when 77 met 32 [ishman ff] [shubish]

2023

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Aditi asked Shubman when she saw him standing outside of one of the team parties they were attending. Aditi came with Ishan as a plus one. The party itself was good, but there was something in the air that suffocated Shubman until he couldn't bear it anymore and went out for some fresh air.

"I didn't feel very well inside," Shubman replied, his voice curt. "Woah, what's the matter?" She tried again. Her approach was more concerned and careful this time. "I don't know," Shubman said, realizing that he might have behaved rudely with her. Whatever he was angry about did not include Aditi, or maybe it did.

"Shubman, you should share things with others; it improves mental health." "I just don't feel like being inside; it's hurting my head. The atmosphere." "What is wrong with the atmosphere?" "I don't really know; maybe it's all just in my head." "Maybe," Aditi said, she looked like she wanted to continue but thought better of it.

"Is there something wrong between you and Ishan?" Aditi was questioned after a while. "why? he said something?" "No, I just feel like this is related to Ishan." She was right. So right, that it scared Shubman. He did not know what was wrong, and he definitely didn't know why Ishan was a part of it, but truth be told, Ishan was always a part of it. It didn't take a genius to guess, but he still decided to defend himself.

"No. It is not related to him at all. I just don't feel very well. That's it." Aditi smiled at that. "You are being quite defensive shubman." She said it teasingly. "I am not." Okay, that definitely sounded defensive, but he was not going to accept it.

Shubman liked Aditi; she was a very nice person. Beautiful, supportive, loyal, intelligent, and ambitious. She was a perfect girlfriend, but he couldn't quite understand this feeling in his heart that decided to surface whenever she came in front of him. Every time they spoke or met, he felt a numbness in his heart.

"I feel like you need a hug," Aditi commented, and Shubman just smiled at her. She looked so concerned right now that it was almost funny. "You need a hug more than me. Should I call Ishan?" "I thought about calling Ishan for you, though," Aditi said, laughing. "His coming here for you is more practical than his coming here for me." She continued to laugh.

They both shared a laugh at that. Shubman felt much better now, but going inside still felt like a milestone. Just as he was thinking about it, Ishan came out, seemingly calling someone. Shubman and Aditi looked at each other and turned to call Ishan, but just then Shubman's phone rang. It was Ishan. Ishan was calling him.

Aditi smiled at that and urged him to pick up the call, which he did. "Hello," "kahan hai." Ishan sounded concerned. "peeche dekh." Just then, Ishan turned around. He marched to them after noticing them standing there. "Kahan gayab hai jabse. Pagal hai kya?" Ishan whisper yelled after reaching them. "See, I told you, didn't I? Ishan would definitely come for you, but never for me."

Ishan looked very embarrassed at that, but he didn't say anything about it. "He would come for you also; don't worry," Shubman said, smiling at Aditi. "Yaha kya karra hai?" "Andar ajeeb lagra tha." Shubman said. "chal phir wapas hotel." Ishan didn't even hesitate before saying that. "Aditi, do you want to stay?" Ishan asked Aditi.

"No, it's fine; let's go back." "Okay, then let me drop you off, and then we'll go back to our hotel," Ishan said, grabbing the car keys. "No, no, you'll go back. I will go back with my sister; she came here for me." Aditi waved them goodbye and went away. "chalien?" Ishan asked Shubman. "Main thik hoon." "Nahi hai, chal wapas." Ishan said, dragging Shubman to the car.

They woke up late the next day. Shubman was sleeping soundly when he heard the door banging. "Kya hai bhai," Shubman asked Shreyas after opening the door. He was still half asleep. "Bhai management bulara hai, kya kaand kiya?" Shreyas said, shoving the phone in his face. There was a message in the group chat. They were asking to see him and Ishan.

After a lot of effort spent waking Ishan up and then a lot more effort spent getting ready, they finally reached. After getting inside the meeting room, they saw Aditi sitting there. "Why are you here?" Ishan asked, taking a seat beside her. "Look at this." Someone in the room said that and played a video.

It was an edit of Aditi and Shubman outside of the party yesterday. The fans were going crazy, and so was the media. People were saying that Aditi and Shubman were dating, and they were both cheating on Ishan. Shubman was being called a backstabbing best friend and Aditi was a cheating girlfriend. Ishan and Aditi didn't make themselves official, but people still knew, and this new information was too much to take.

Some were even theorizing that Shubman and Aditi were originally dating and that Ishan and Aditi were just friends. They were saying that every theory from the start was wrong. Everything was a mess, and they had a bilateral series coming up. This was all so stupid.

"There is nothing between us, Ishan. trust me." Shubman said, looking desperate. Getting cut off by Ishan over something like this was the last thing he wanted right now. Ishan looked very calm. He looked at Shubman, smiled, and said, "I do. I trust you, Shubi." Shubman's heart skipped a beat at that.

"Are you sure there is nothing?" The staff asked, and it was more of an accusation directed towards Aditi. "Shubman is like a brother to me," Aditi commented, clearly feeling uncomfortable under the watching eyes of everyone in the room.

"What to do now?" "How does this matter? Let me release a sentence about it, and we will be done." Shubman suggested. "Your image?" the staff asked. "To hell with that." "Shubman," Ishan warned. "I have an idea." Someone said. "what?" "Do you know Sara?" The question was directed towards Shubman. "Who?" Shubman asked back, looking confused.

"Do you mean Sara Tendulkar by Sara?" Ishan asked. "Yes, exactly her." "Who?" Shubman asked again. "She is the daughter of Sachin sir," Ishan explained. "What about her?" "Why don't you date her?" they asked Shubman. "excuse me?" "I mean, you can meet her; let the fans think that you'll are a thing; if you like her, be with her; otherwise, just grow apart. This is the only way this issue can be solved." They explained.

"You mean a PR stunt?" Shubman asked, looking pissed. "yes." "No. I am not doing that." "Okay, your wish. The person who is going to suffer the most through this is Aditi anyway. She would need to break up with Ishan for the time being. That is the only other solution."

Shubman looked at Aditi and felt his heart squeeze. He can't let that poor girl suffer, but hearing about the breakup part did give rise to different emotions in his heart. But he decided against letting Aditi suffer. "Okay, I'll meet her." He said that and marched out of the room.

In the next few days, Shubman was set up to meet Sara. They were gaining the media's attention very well. Everything was going as planned. Sara came to the next bilateral series as the audience. They got popular in the next few days. Shubsara was trending everywhere. There were chants of Sara Bhabhi in the audience at the next tournament.

If you asked Shubman about this whole situation, he would tell you that Sara was a nice person, and he did have doubts that she liked him a bit. But no matter what reasons he thought of, he just couldn't bring himself to like her like that. She was just a good friend to him, and he could see nothing more than that happening between them.

He couldn't understand his feelings anymore. All of his friends started teasing him with her name, and he was quite okay with it, but the moment Ishan did that, it would piss him off a lot. Like, why would he say that? He knew that this was a PR and that there was nothing between them. What is the reason behind this stupidity, then? He just couldn't understand.

In the next few days, Aditi suggested that they all meet on a double date. And Shubman was pissed again. Why would they, of all people, call it a date? They knew exactly what this was. Shubman, under pressure, still decided to go with it, and Ishan and Aditi finally met Sara.

"heyyy." Aditi greeted her when they arrived. "You look so pretty." "thank you. You look prettier." Shubman and Ishan just looked at each other, trying their best not to burst out laughing. They always laughed at the most inappropriate times. They needed to work on that.

After the hug with Aditi, Sara extended her hand in front of Ishan for a handshake. "Hi, I have heard a lot about you." She said. "I am sure you did," Aditi said, looking at Shubman. To which he just shrugged.